FEBRUARY 2020 BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT
Sponsored by:
FULLY CHARGED
PP Control & Automation has opened a new ESD manufacturing facility,
which has allowed the company to diversify its offering to the market
CONTRIBUTOR PP CONTROL & AUTOMATION
An increasing number of businesses today
are looking to increase profit through
efficiency. One area they can do this is
by working with partners and suppliers
to take more control of the process and
identity ways where they can add value.
Take ‘box building’ for example. This can mean
different things to OEMs – from a large floorstanding
cabinet for industrial machine tools to
a desktop solution for cash handling. Either way,
the outcome is the same, continuing to stretch the
supply chain, be it in-house or outsourced.
This is a challenge that PP Control &
Automation relish and has helped it become
one of Europe’s leading suppliers of outsourced
manufacturing solutions to many of the globe’s
largest machinery builders.
The UK operation, which employs over 220
people at its site in the West Midlands, has always
provided solutions around electrical control/
automation systems and associated cabling
and connectivity, continuing to add value to its
customers. Over the past five years it has added
pneumatics, hydraulics and mechanical assembly
to the services it offers.
The business has recently invested in creating a
dedicated 1,000 square foot Electrostatic Discharge
(ESD) manufacturing facility that means it can
now take on more complex and delicate builds
encompassing high-end PCB assemblies and box
builds in a dedicated and controlled environment.
“It is a decision that’s already paying off,”
explains Garry Myatt, sales director at PP Control
& Automation. “A number of our existing clients
were asking us for this additional capability, so
we decided that the time was right to make the
investment and bring this service into our offering.
This meant developing an environment that met
the needs of our customers and legal compliance
to the recognised standards and this involved
special flooring, benches and test equipment –
all grounded to earth to ensure that life of the
electronics is protected from potential ESD.”
He continues: “Five people are now employed in
this area and all have undergone specific training to
ensure compliance. There’s about £2 million of new
opportunities in the pipeline and, if these come to
fruition, this manufacturing cell will increase in
capacity and we’ll need to recruit more staff.”
As a strategic outsourcer with its core
competency being ‘box build and system
integration’, populated printed circuit boards
are handled just like another
material line item and the
requirement is managed
accordingly through an approved
vendor process.
With 80% of customers on
a kanban supply agreement,
implementing the right
processes and key partnerships
from the start is key, with robust
planning and lean manufacturing
operations, backed by a skilled
workforce of electro-mechanical
technicians, ensuring that the
business is currently operating a
>98.50% ‘on time in full’ service.
PP Control & Automation is
also excellently positioned to
offer Design for Manufacture
and Assembly in conceptual
development of ideas, as well as
in basic consulting.
“Many companies continue
to develop a product design
that leads to unnecessary costs,
requires an inflexible supply
chain and suffers from inefficient
manufacturing processes,”
points out Garry.
“This is why our Engineering,
Operations and Supply Chain
are integrated at the earliest
possible stage to help optimise
a design that’s efficient to
manufacture and makes parts
readily available to ensure a
quicker time to market.”
PP Control &
Automation
operates at
98.5% on time
in full service
Its strategic outsourcing
partnerships provide machine
builders with better production
flexibility, reduced lead times and
greater control.
Garry concludes: “We’ve got
a lot of exciting diversification
plans, some of which focus on
making the most of the ESD
manufacturing facility with both
existing and new clients.
“With 2019 being a record
year, securing over £3 million of
new orders from the healthcare,
food and drink and packaging
sectors, we anticipate further
growth in 2020 from this new
manufacturing service. A spin-out
from Aston University is already
tapping into this area where we
are offering a full turnkey service,
from material sourcing through
to testing. Volumes are increasing
monthly and the expectation is
there that this will be a service
that PP will take globally on
behalf of the client.”
Backed by Canadian
investment group Ardenton
Capital, PP Control &
Automation is exploring a joint
venture or an acquisition in
North America.
For more information,
visit www.ppcanda.com
Twitter: @ppcanda
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